Mar.13 (GMM) Talks about Michael Schumacher's expiring Ferrari contract will only take place in the summer, according to his long-time agent Willi Weber.

Since retiring as a driver in 2006, the seven time world champion has remained with the Maranello marque as an occasional test driver and advisor to the team as well as Ferrari's road car division.

Germany's Bild newspaper estimates his annual retainer at 5 million euros, with the contract set to expire this year.

"I'm just saying this from a personal point of view, it's clear that everything must be assessed for what it can bring," team boss Stefano Domenicali said after Christmas.

Weber, flagging talks to ramp up in the summer, said: "We are in no hurry."

Schumacher, 40, has made a number of appearances at the pre-season tests this winter, including this week at Barcelona.

When McLaren's reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton crashed earlier this week, Schumacher was quickly on hand at the wheel of a hire car on the internal access roads and observed peering at the underbody of the stricken MP4-24.